"Brazilian Dragon/White Spotted" Moray Info?

[SkinnyPete]

Muraena pavonina - sometimes called Brazilian Dragon or White Spotted Moray...

Anyone have any info on this eel? They are rarely found in the aquarium trade. A lfs has one available. I have a lot of experience with eels, and I know that every creature is different. But, I can't find any general info about this guy online. Max size? Temperament? Any help would be appreciated. He'd be housed in a 210 FOWLR with medium sized fish...

porc puffer
pair of blue throat triggers
large angel
2-3 Henis (bannerfish)
Naso Tang

Would love to grab him, but not sure about aggression.

[Fluff]

There isn't alot of info about these eels. I did find that they are very simular to the jeweled eel in behavior. The whitespotted can attain a length of 20-21" long so not a large eel but can and will consume crustaceans and any small, slow moving fish in the tank. What a great find. If you decide to get it, I'd love to see pics.

[SkinnyPete]

Well, I had a jeweled eel and he became nasty when he was a big boy.

The fish store has had him for 2 weeks. I may stop by tomorrow and notice what fish they are housing him with now. I have no fish in my tank yet, but it may be a good idea to get this guy FIRST and add a couple...less expensive of my list to see how he reacts.

[melosu58]

I cant help you on that one but I did recently bought a snowflake eel and I`m looking forward to him in my FOWLR tank.

[SkinnyPete]

Snowflakes are always awesome eels. I've had a couple. I was hoping for something different this time around. I've had zebras, jeweled, and snowflakes. This brazilian dragon is definitely DIFFERENT -

http://www.atlantisaquarium.net/images/DSCN4121.JPG

But, I'm not going to buy him blindly and then have expensive fish disappear :-( I'm so surprised that I can't find any info on Muraena pavonina anywhere. These guys must be really rare in the trade - making it all that more tempting

[melosu58]

Very beautiful eel.

[SassyAngel111]

very pretty guy

[SkinnyPete]

So, I ended up grabbing him yesterday. Hara, who I always trust with eel suggestions, did say that she would skip it with my intention of having a community type of tank. But, this guy was just so cool looking different that I had to have him. I can build my tank around HIM rather than looking for an eel to match my wish list.

He's very active since introducing him yesterday. He's got the whole 210 to himself - well, I have 2 chromis in there that I assumed would be a meal within the first couple hours - but, he doesn't seem to care about them (yet). They swim right past his face without a slight reaction. I'm going to modify my wish list and make sure I only add medium - large fish so they don't become a meal. He ate raw shrimp from a stick earlier today and so far, so good.

I'll post pictures of him soon when he's not flying around from cave to cave digging out spots to call his own. My tank has been a dust cloud all day.

[Fluff]

That's awesome. Can't wait to see him. Keep him well fed and hopefully he'll ignore the chromis. Good luck with him!

[SkinnyPete]

Here's a very quick YouTube clip that I snagged in between digging sessions...

YouTube - Brazilian Dragon Moray Eel Digs His New Home

[Fluff]

He's incredible.